Notes: I went to Canada with Doug to dive the HMCS Annapolis. We drove up on the Friday evening and stayed in Vancouver; very pleasant late dinner at the Blue Water Cofe. Up early then on Saturday to go to Horseshoe Bay and check in with Sea Dragon Charters at 7.30am, to be ready for a boat departure at 8am (CA$110 for two dives, back at 1pm). The boat was called Topline.

We had only one set of doubles each for the trip so we kept the first dive relatively short, aiming to come up with about 2200 PSI for the following one. It was a bit unsatisfactory. We did a brief shallow penetration at about 90 feet that used up a good bit of gas and then worked our way back to the line but we didn’t get a good feel for the layout of the ship. The second dive was much better. We did a nice controlled circumnavigation of the main decks of the ship along with a closer look at a helicopter hangar (no helicopter) and the bridge.

Equipment: As previous dive with my HP-100s. I should switch the ports to which my alternate second stage and drysuit inflator hoses are connected. This would slightly improve the routing of my short hose. I still need to shorten the bungee on my alternate second stage by an inch or two. My mask leaked a bit again on the first dive. Not sure why this is. My recently adjusted harness was ok getting in, fine underwater but very difficult to get out of. It turns out my light malfunction (intermittently turning itself off) on the previous dive is a known heat-related issue with Halcyon EOS Mini lights. It needs to be sent back to Halcyon for some small modification. It was ok on these dives though. These were my first dives using my own 10-lb v-weight (didn’t need to borrow from Doug). I have not done a proper weight check with this configuration but this seems to to be fine. Must do a proper weight check at some point. My long hose tends slip out after being tucked into the harness. Until I get a canister light, it might be worth while picking up a canister light simulator like this one.

Notes: A weekend to begin the winter in South West Rocks; the town so-named because some rocks were directly southwest of Captain Cook’s ship at the exact instant that he was inspired to name them, or so we heard. We booked a Fish Rock Cave dive with South West Rocks Dive Centre, having previously had positive experiences with them. Every day that weather permits, they launch their boats into the Macleay river, cross the sandbar to the ocean, sail across Trial bay and south to Fish Rock (passing Green Island along the way–the nomenclature in this region tends to be quite literal). This route (see the map below), incidentally, is why you can’t dive Fish Rock Cave at night; commercial vessels cannot cross the sandbar after dark. There is great fishing enthusiasm in the town. Four-wheel drives with batteries of fishing rod holders abound. Pelicans loiter near the fish-gutting station by the boat ramp.

Price: $140 inc. tank and weights ($170, inc. gear rental).

Diving: Despite the fine weather, there was much movement in the ocean. The route that we had previously taken through the cave (right to left in the map in the picture) was ruled out because of the (somewhat) narrow chimney at the deep end. Instead, we entered by the shallow entrance and continued for about 25 metres before turning and leaving by the same way. The vis was not good, and there was a lot of movement in the water. We lost Eithne on the way back. The guides went back to search but she was on the boat by the time we surfaced.

Surface interval: jellies, biscuits, cup-a-soup and a glimpse of a big turtle.

For the second dive, we forewent the cave altogether and had a leisurely meander around some gullies near the rock, where the local nurse shark colony hang out at this time of year. Vis still bad, but a nice dive all the same, with sharks gliding out of the murk.

Notes: A good Christmas eve. This cave dive certainly isn’t about subtle beauty- all massive stuff: sting rays, nurse sharks by the dozen, big cray fish. A pang of pity for the sharks trailing fishing line from hooks in their mouths. And this a marine reserve. SW rocks diving provided a good service. Leaving the camera behind was a mistake.